Many millions of people suffer from back pain every year in across the globe. One of the prominent causes of back pain and related disabilities is the rupture or degeneration of one or more intervertebral discs in the spine due to trauma, disease, and/or aging. Displaced, damaged, or degenerated discs can result in irritation or damage to the delicate nerve tissues in close proximity to the spine. Surgical procedures are commonly performed to correct conditions and pain associated with displaced, damaged, or degenerated intervertebral discs. Generally, spinal fusion procedures involve removing some or the all of the diseased or damaged disc, and inserting one or more intervertebral implants into the resulting void in the disc space to restore the appropriate spacing between the vertebral bodies bordering the disc space. In the cervical spine, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedures provide unparalleled access to a desired cervical spinal target site. The ACDF technique involves approaching the cervical spine through the neck and exposing the front of the cervical spine, as opposed to the back. Approaching the cervical spine this way generally allows for greater exposure and a more complete excision of the damaged disc. Introducing the intervertebral implant serves to restore the height between adjacent vertebrae (“disc height”), which reduces, if not eliminates, neural impingement associated with a damaged or diseased disc.
In recent years, the area of total disc replacement has experienced proliferated growth and attention from the medical community. Known total disc replacement devices generally require some form of articulation or inherent flexibility in the device to permit a spine having the device to maintain its natural posture and range of motion as much as possible. Such devices typically include between 2 and 4 separate components constructed from any number of materials. Generally speaking, these components include a pair of cover plates for engagement with opposed vertebral body endplates and one or more internal components for simulating the intervertebral disc. These multi-part total disc replacement devices provide good results, however the surgical technique for implantation can be challenging. The best results are achieved when the multi-part total disc replacement device is properly positioned in the intervertebral disc space, making the need for specialized insertion instruments an important area of focus.
The present invention is directed at overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.